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Monday, April 30, 2018

Twenty-three year-old Jesse is the respected coffin maker in the Halloween tourist town of Gregor’s Hollow. He took over the family business after his father disappeared years ago. His routine is disturbed when Death himself pays a visit to Jesse's shop demanding eight coffins in time for Halloween. The coffins are for his next victims, all of which are from the town. Jesse can't turn Death down, especially when in exchange Death will tell him what happened to his father. Although taking Death's deal, Jesse has a different plan. Although he's started on the coffins, he's going to save Death's next victims.

The Coffin Maker by Breeann Allison sounded like it could be right up my alley. While it was good, it just didn't quite work for me. It's described as a mystery/ thriller fantasy, but it's definitely much more of a cozy mystery with a dash of paranormal. Cozies aren't particularly my style. I liked getting to know the town, but I wasn't all that interested in any of the characters. Plus, some of the character names are really odd. I mean, Etsy Glass and Jebediah Jinkles - are you kidding me? Was I supposed to laugh so much every single time I came across them? I think my favorite aspect of the story is Death's introduction, but maybe that's because he reminded me of Death in Supernatural when it comes to food.

Overall, this mystery wasn't bad, it just wasn't for me. It wasn't quite what I was expecting in the long run. It has some intriguing elements, particularly in the world-building when it comes to the town of Gregor's Hollow and the dash of the paranormal. If you like cozy mysteries and perhaps Midnight Texas tv adaptation, you may enjoy this story. My real question: Why isn't this being released at Halloween, rather than on the first of May?

The Devil in the White City has been recommended so many times, both by friends and on the job and I was so exited to try it out for myself. Luckily, it did not disappoint in the least. The detail that has gone into this account is absolutely stunning, especially considering that it's all true to life. It's also compulsively readable. It isn't dusty and dry, but exciting, creepy, and intense. As fascinating as learning about H.H. Holmes is, I also enjoyed learning more about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. It sounds like quite a time to be alive, unless you ran afoul of Holmes that is. To me, it's unbelievable that he got away with so much (in the construction of his "Murder Castle", kidnapping, torture, murder, etc.) and wasn't caught until a few years later. If you are interested in true crime at all, you need to pick up this book, especially if you like historical thrillers. I will definitely need to try more of Erik Larson's work in the future.

I read this book from April 12 - 16, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

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I have absolutely no idea why I never picked up this 1949 sci-fi classic earlier, though, I have seen the movie adaptation (released in 1984), which is brilliant if difficult film to watch. Now that I have officially read it I can totally say that I understand why it's considered a classic. Although, it's 69 years old this year, this granddaddy of a dystopian still feels incredibly timely and relevant. The only thing that really bothered me about the story are the huge infodumps - by the time I got through them I had nearly forgotten what exactly the characters were doing. I also think Julia deserved so much better - I mean, she's just so flat in comparison to Winston. Overall, though, 1984 is entirely worth picking up, especially if you're interested in dystopians.

I listened to this audiobook from April 4 - 6, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.

Next Up For May:

A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa)

My choice: Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick - This sounds like such a cool historical fantasy set in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia in 1917 featuring a magical Faberge egg. I've had this on my tbr for nearly three years and I can't wait to finally try it!

Have you been taking part in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge? Have you tried any of these books before, if so, what did you think of them? As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately! If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below.

Rules:

Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately. It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others. If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).

If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.

Awhile back I shared some of my favorite music moments from Supernatural from both both seasons 1 & 2 as well as 3 & 4, this week I'm back spotlighting a favorite from both season 5 & 6. From season 5, I had to go with "O Death" by Jen Titus from episode 21, "Two Minutes To Midnight", which features one of the coolest character introductions in the series. Then for season 6, I chose "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers (1979) from episode 4, "Weekend At Bobby's", which is one of my favorite episodes from the entire season. What are some of your favorite songs from this series?

Sunday, April 29, 2018

As far as sixteen year-old Merrilee is concerned, boys in books are much better than boys in real life. What she wouldn't give to have a real boy sweep her off of her feet into a whirlwind romance like her favorite book boyfriends. She's about to get the chance of a lifetime when she, her best friend, and her sister start at a prestigious new high school, but things don't always turn out the same way for her as they do for her favorite heroines.

Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt sounded like it could be a fun YA contemporary. I have a hard time saying no to a character who loves books. Unfortunately, the first half or so of this story was incredibly grating, and a lot of that is due to Merrilee herself. As a book lover, I really hope I'm not half as annoying as Merrilee to my peers who don't love reading quite so much as I do. I probably gave my eyes quite a work out with all of the rolling they were doing in the sockets, especially as her English class starts studying Romeo & Juliet and Merrilee begins to think she's found her own personal Romeo - not what I'd call a good thing, by the way. The second half of this story is where things really begin to take off. I'd give the second half maybe four stars actually. I loved Merrilee's wake up call. She begins to grow as a character which was great, and a relief to see actually. By the way, I have to say I think I identified the most with Merrilee's English teacher - and that makes me feel pretty dang old. Finally, I liked the element of the events of the books Merrilee's reading seemingly manifesting into her life, but this totally wasn't that kind at all even though I wish it could have been.

Overall, Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt was a serviceable YA Contemporary that begins to pick up way too late to really overcome an annoying opening. Once it does pick up the pace though I found myself actually beginning to enjoy it. I was pleased to see that our main character actually begins to improve and change for the better as the story progressed. If you like bookish characters that prefer their reading material to the real world, you may also want to meet the heroine of Bookish Boyfriend.

Happy Sunday everyone! This past week has been so busy and crazy, but luckily I was able to have a little bit of fun. I got to take my first bike ride of the year. I tackled my favorite bike path (13.3 miles one way, 26.6 miles total) which is incredibly scenic.

Near the end of the trail before I turned back around I spotted a lot turtles. There are at 8 turtles (at least one of them is a painted turtle) in the photo on top. Can you spot them all? There are also a couple of spots along the bike trail where you can see eagles nests. It's hard to make it out in the photo, but there are two babies in the nest and mommy and/or daddy eagle is perched in a nearby tree. For reference, the size of the nest is just about the size of an upside down Volkswagen Beetle. As much fun as I had on the bike ride, it actually got really clear and sunny more so than it has been all year and I ended up with a sunburn - a little pink on my face, and the tops of my hands. I burn very easily (once I burned in the middle of December) and the tops of my hands are the most irritating. Good thing I was wearing a jacket or it could have been worse.

This week I also managed to start in on a new tv series, Channel Zero: No-End House. It's the second season of this horror series. It's an anthology series where you don't need to watch season one to understand the second - I did watch the first season which is subtitled Candle Cove and it's excellent. So far I'm about half way through season two and it's so intense and creepy.

Like don't watch it right before bed, and have all of the lights on while you watch! You might like this series if you're a fan of American Horror Story.

Finally, the last book I've picked up this week isThe Historic Licking County Jail: Untold Stories of the Murderers Who Lived Thereby Neil D. Phelps. It was a recent donation to my library and I decided that I needed to try it out. This old jail is a local architectural landmark - I've actually been on a tour of the place and it has a fascinating history. I have to say I wish the photo they would've used for the cover was a bit better. You're only seeing the narrow end, it's quite a bit bigger and cooler than what the photo makes it look.

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Avengers: Infinity War is easily one of my most highly anticipated movies of 2018 and for the most part this huge crossover lives up to the hype. I won't be going into spoiler territory with my little mini review, but I will say this movie is so much fun, thrilling, and intense. It's not perfect, but all things considered the filmmakers and actors do a wonderful job keeping all of these balls in the air. Thanos is a great new villain, better than I was expecting, and it's just plain fun seeing all of these characters interact (shout out to Thor and Rocket!). The character meet ups and all of the twists will make you cheer and gasp - it might have been the most excited and stressed out I've been while watching a Marvel movie for the first time. Like the directors said, there are death(s) in the movie - so prepare yourself for that. Don't forget to watch for the Stan Lee cameo (which was pretty funny!) and stay for the one after credits scene. Let's just say I have some theories as to what that means, and what's next for our favorite characters!

TL;DR - Me throughout, especially at that ending!

Next Up:

Bad Samaritan(May 4th) - A thriller with David Tennant and Robert Sheehan? Count me in! I'll definitely be rooting for David Tennant's villain!

Deadpool 2 (May 18th) - I loved the first movie a lot more than I expected too, so of course I'm going to see the sequel!

So what have you been up to this week? What books have you read or picked up lately? Are you going to see Avengers: Infinity War? Have a great rest of your weekend everyone!

Friday, April 27, 2018

On Friday's I take part in three weekly link ups - The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice, Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader, and 50/50 Friday is a new weekly link up and it is hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books. For The Friday 56, you choose a book, a book you have just finished, a book you are about to start, your current read, and share a line or a few lines that grab you (but don't spoil anything) from page 56 or 56% of the way through the ebook. Post it and share your post's url on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post. As for Book Beginnings, you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires, and then link up your post's url with Rose City Reader. Then, for 50/50 Friday, every week there's a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - you share a book that suits each category and link up on the hosts blogs.

Our train gnashed its way along frozen tracks toward the white-capped fangs of the Carpathian Mountains. From our position outside Bucharest, the capital of Romania, the peaks were the color of fading bruises.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to my stop on the Song of Blood & Song Blog Tour from St. Martin's Press. Read on to learn more about this book, the author, check out my review, and read early praise for the novel! On to the tour:

SONG OF BLOOD & STONE

Earthsinger Chronicles, Book One

By L. Penelope
Published by St. Martin’s Press

Release Date: May 1, 2018

A treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers.

Orphaned and alone, Jasminda lives in a land where cold whispers of invasion and war linger on the wind. Jasminda herself is an outcast in her homeland of Elsira, where her gift of Earthsong is feared. When ruthless soldiers seek refuge in her isolated cabin, they bring with them a captive--an injured spy who threatens to steal her heart.

Jack's mission behind enemy lines to prove that the Mantle between Elsira and Lagamiri is about to fall nearly cost him his life, but he is saved by the healing Song of a mysterious young woman. Now he must do whatever it takes to save Elsira and it's people from the True Father and he needs Jasminda's Earthsong to do it. They escape their ruthless captors and together they embark on a perilous journey to save Elsira and to uncover the secrets of The Queen Who Sleeps.

Thrust into a hostile society, Jasminda and Jack must rely on one another even as secrets jeopardize their bond. As an ancient evil gains power, Jasminda races to unlock a mystery that promises salvation.

The fates of two nations hang in the balance as Jasminda and Jack must choose between love and duty to fulfill their destinies and end the war.

Early Praise:
"This debut, which won the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Self-Publishing Award, shines a bright light
into epic fantasy. Battle-scarred lands and peoples, ancient powers at war, star-crossed loves and hints of racial and
refugee themes gives this a solid place on library shelves."
—Library Journal, STARRED review

"Penelope parallels our own world, exploring a refugee crisis and race relations with emotion and nuance...Fresh, suspenseful, and perceptive, Penelope’s first in a new series will appeal to historical-fantasy readers, especially fans of
N. K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms."
—Booklist

"Penelope delivers an engrossing story with delightful characters in this fantastic opening to a promising series."
—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"Wonderful characters, unique setting, and an engaging romance set against the backdrop of ancient magic. I can't wait
to see what L. Penelope will do next."
—Ilona Andrews, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Prepare to be hooked. SONG OF BLOOD & STONE is brimming with captivating lore, unique magic, and plot-turns you
never saw coming. L. Penelope has written your next fantasy obsession."
—Elise Kova, USA Today bestselling author of The Loom Saga

"SONG OF BLOOD & STONE is a thrilling and complex journey through a beautifully rendered world that is imaginative,
magical, and eerily similar to our own. A terrific read!"
—Daniel Jose Older, New York Times bestselling author

My Review:

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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope is an older YA/ NA fantasy romance novel with an excellent introduction that really made me want to dive into to the story. My favorite aspects of this new story are the world-building and our main character, Jasminda. In regards to the world-building that we get to see of warring nations Elsira and Lagrimar are intriguing when it comes to the big picture, such as the physical and magical differences between the Lagrimari and the Elsirans, how Elsiran society treats those it views as other like our main character Jasminda who is both part Elsiran and Lagrimari (she strongly favors her Lagrimari side, Earthsong magic included). Broadly, the author's world building is quite good, but when it comes down to the details I wish we could have seen a little more. Primarily, I felt a bit out of the loop on what exactly Earthsong magic entails and how it works. We get to see it in action a few times, but there are still so many questions I had about the magic system overall. Due to the mentalities and some details I also expected more of a historical setting, but peppered throughout we see things like vehicles, airplanes, tanks, modern military weaponry. If done more consistently this could have been a great setting feature, but as it is this mash up of historical and modern is quite jarring. Though I do have to mention that I loved the opening of each chapter with a bit of folklore from their world, that was a nice touch as it helps set the stage.

In regards to our main character, Jasminda is a very strong and courageous young woman who is willing to take things into her own hands to get things done. Her character also gives us a look into her experiences as biracial in tough circumstances. I could greatly appreciate watching Jasminda grow over the course of the story. Jack, her love interest, on the other hand, I wasn't all that interested in him even though he does get a few great twists, especially when it comes to his identity - and, of course, what that means for Jasminda. What surprised me the most about him has to do with his name. Of course, this is a fantasy story and everyone has interesting names except him. I mean, his full name is more interesting, but he really only goes by his nickname Jack. I don't know about you, but it actually bothered me that he goes by such a boring name. It's not nearly as cool as Jasminda's, that's for sure. Finally, I have got to mention their romance. Sure Jasminda and Jack go through a lot together, but I'd still classify it as instalove. In the long run, though, that didn't bother me as much as how graphic their love scenes become. The story is marketed as Young Adult, but when it comes to the romance it's definitely New Adult. I was not expecting that level of steaminess. The lead up is very YA in tone which was fine, but then the story takes on a level of steaminess that I associate with NA, or maybe even adult romance. Honestly, that's not really my thing and I could have done without about 10% of the story as the romance began to monopolize everything else.

Overall, Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope shows a lot of potential as an older YA/ NA fantasy romance. It has several elements I enjoyed - I liked what world-building we got to see and I enjoyed getting to know our leading lady. However, there's so much more I'd like to know about the world of the Elsirans and Lagrimari. If you're a fan of a major portion romance with your on the side fantasy, you may enjoy the love story a little more than I did (for me, it was just a little too overpowering). While reading this novel, I totally had Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples in the back of my mind, so if you enjoy that graphic novel series you may want to try this series opener.

Thanks for this opportunity, NetGalley!

About the Author:

Leslye Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in
her head. She is an award-winning author of new adult, fantasy, and paranormal romance. She
lives in Maryland with her husband and their furry dependents: an eighty-pound lap dog and an
aspiring feral cat.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Happy Tuesday everyone! Welcome to the first Top Ten Tuesday now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is Frequently Used Words In [Insert Genre/Age Group] Titles. I'm going with fantasy titles that begin with "The Girl" and I'm breaking down my list by books I've read books and books on my TBR. Here we go:

Monday, April 23, 2018

Eelyn is a warrior alongside her fellow Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Life is brutally simple: fight and survive until the next battle. Then Eelyn sees something impossible - her brother alive and fighting on the side of the enemy, the same brother she watched die five years before. Faced with his betrayal, Eelyn has no choice but to outlast the winter in the mountains with the Riki. She is surrounded by the mortal enemy of her people, where every scar could be one she delivered in the heat of battle. Then, the Riki village is raided by another ruthless clan thought to be legend, Eelyn is more desperate than ever to get back to her family. Now she has no choice but to trust her brother's new Riki friend, Fiske, who sees her as a threat. The three will have to do the impossible and unite the Aska and Riki clans if they all want to survive this new danger.

Wow! Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young was exactly what I needed! It's one of the most hyped up books out there right now and it totally delivers. As soon as I heard YA fantasy with Vikings, I was in. Looking back on it, though, this new release definitely outclassed my expectations. The best part is that this is Adrienne Young's debut - how impressive is that - I mean, after that I'm dying to know what she's going to do next. Thank you so much to NetGalley for granting my review request!

Like I said, this story is features Vikings and there are a ton of well-executed fight scenes with a real take no prisoners kind of heroine. It's incredibly action-packed and it's also perfectly paced for that as well as some of the calmer moments. I never felt like the story was moving too fast or dragging. The author does a fantastic job of introducing us to the world of the Aska and the Riki. Although the world-building is a little more limited and narrow than what I prefer, it doesn't hinder the story as it's very tightly defined, controlled, and clearly set up from the beginning.

As fantastic as all of these elements are, though, the cast of characters is what really sets this story off. I was pleasantly surprised to see just how character-driven such an action-packed novel turned out to be. Eelyn has easily become one of my new favorite YA characters and I honestly wouldn't say no to seeing more like her in the future. I love her conviction, honor, loyalty, strength of body and mind, and the realistic relationships she builds with her family and friends. She also has a brilliantly done character arc and we get to see her grow and change on the page - we get to see her at the top of her game, vulnerable, doing what was thought to be impossible, and more. There's also a bit of hate-to-love romance between Eelyn and Fiske and I found myself rather enjoying that much more than I expected to as well. I don't know about you, but aside from Lagertha in Vikings, Okoye from Black Panther came to mind when considering Eelyn's character and values.

Overall, Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young is an amazing YA debut that easily lives up to the hype. It's a brilliant standalone fantasy, but I can honestly say I wish I could be spending more time with Eelyn in the future. I can't recommend this story highly enough. There's so much to love about this incredible new release, but you shouldn't just take my world for it. I will definitely be keeping my eyes on Adrienne Young's upcoming projects.

Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let's share some songs we've been enjoying lately! If you would like to play and I really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below.

Rules:

Every Monday share a few songs you've been enjoying lately. It doesn't have to be a specific genre, new, or one of your favorites - just something you'd like to share with others. If possible, share a music or lyric video of the song and your thoughts on the song(s), artist(s), and/or music video(s).

If you would like to participate in Music Monday, please join the link up by sharing your post's url.

I've recently finished the first season of Westworld. I liked the old movie with Yul Brynner and I'd been told I ought to try this series - as it turns out I love it. There's so many great characters and I love the sci-fi element, as well as how creepy it begins to get the further you go along. Anyway, one of the best little surprises of the series is that player piano in the saloon, so this week I'm spotlighting the show's version of "Black Hole Sun" and "Heart-Shaped Box" which was featured in the trailer for the second season. I can't wait to see season 2!